He had heard from Duan Xinning before that Lin Ting made clay figurines and was quite good at it.
She had once made a clay figurine as a gift for her.
These clay figurines were modeled after real people.
Duan Ling saw Li Jingqiu, Tao Zhu, and some other maids from Tingzhu Courtyard, and finally Lin Ting herself, probably made while looking in the mirror.
Lin Ting saw Duan Ling staring at the clay figurines and casually said, “I made all of these.”
“I know.”
Lin Ting was surprised: “How could you know?”
She had never mentioned it to Duan Ling, nor had she given him a clay figurine, and she had never made one in front of him.
Duan Ling slowly looked at the clay figurines on the rack again: “Lingyun told me.”
Lin Ting almost forgot about Duan Xinning.
She might have mentioned it to him casually, and since Duan Ling had an excellent memory, he remembered it as soon as he heard it.
But when it came to the clay figurines, Lin Ting still felt a bit proud:
“What do you think of them?”
“They look very nice.”
Lin Ting was delighted: “I’ll make one for you when I have the chance.”
If it weren’t for the fact that selling clay figurines wouldn’t make much money, she might have opened a shop to sell them.
Duan Ling paused: “Sure.”
“Then you stay here and look around for a while. I’ll go to my room and check on something.”
Lin Ting had something to ask Li Jingqiu and wanted to avoid Duan Ling.
She pulled her into the room and quietly took out a piece of paper with a drawing of Ta Xuening from her sleeve and said:
“Mother, take a look at this portrait.”
The more Lin Ting thought about Ta Xuening sending people to spy on her and her mother, the more suspicious she felt.
She had considered several possibilities and thought about it for a long time, but in the end, she decided to eliminate them one by one, starting with Li Jingqiu to see if she recognized him.
If Li Jingqiu recognized Ta Xuening, Lin Ting wanted to figure out the nature of their relationship and then decide what to do next.
If Li Jingqiu didn’t recognize Ta Xuening, Lin Ting would tell Duan Ling about it.
Li Jingqiu was puzzled.
She glanced at the portrait and looked puzzled: “Who is this?”
The man in the portrait had pale, bloodless skin, a soft and delicate face, no expression, and a very sinister look in his eyes, as if he was wearing a skin that didn’t belong to him.
It was impossible to tell his exact age.
Lin Ting urged her to take another close look:
“You don’t recognize the person in the drawing?”
“I don’t,” Li Jingqiu frowned, taking the portrait from her hand, puzzled.
“Why would I recognize him? Besides, why would you think I know this person?”
“This person approached me before and said some strange things. I thought Mother might know him.”
Lin Ting glossed over the details, not planning to tell Li Jingqiu about Ta Xuening sending people to spy on them, so as not to worry her.
Whenever Li Jingqiu had something on her mind, she would lose sleep and appetite.
Li Jingqiu glanced at the portrait again.
She would remember if she had seen this face before, but it was completely unfamiliar to her.
She asked worriedly, “This person said strange things to you? He didn’t try to trick you into believing he knew me and then ask you for money, did he? Don’t you dare believe him.”
There were no shortage of such swindlers in the capital.
Lin Ting burned the portrait.
“No, don’t worry. I’ll handle it myself.”
Li Jingqiu was still skeptical.
“Really, it’s not,” as the flames consumed the person in the drawing, Lin Ting let go before it was fully ablaze, watching the paper gradually turn to ashes.
“No one can swindle a single coin from me.”
Li Jingqiu nodded in agreement, seeing Lin Ting’s rosy complexion, she reached out and touched her face, relieved that she had been well these past few days.
“That’s true. Who could swindle money from you? My girl is the smartest.”
Suddenly, Lin Ting grabbed Li Jingqiu’s hand, pulled up her sleeve, and revealed her bruised wrist.
“How did this happen?”
Li Jingqiu quickly withdrew her hand.
“I bumped into something accidentally. Today is your return visit day, and it’s just a minor injury. There’s no need to mention it.”
Lin Ting, seeing her mother’s expression, couldn’t possibly believe her.
“Bumped into something? Are you trying to deceive me?”
Li Jingqiu’s eyes flickered, attempting to change the subject.
“Why would I deceive you?”
Lin Ting grabbed her hand again, staring at the bruise on her wrist.
“Look me in the eye and tell me, is this really from bumping into something?”
Realizing she couldn’t hide it any longer, Li Jingqiu confessed, “Your father came over last night, wanting me to mention his promotion to Ziyu today. I refused and scolded him harshly. He got angry and pushed me, causing the injury.”
Lin Ting turned to leave, intending to confront her father.
“That old man dares to hit you?”
Li Jingqiu stopped her, reminding her again, “Today is your return visit day. Don’t cause trouble. It wouldn’t be good if Duan, your husband, saw it. Besides, your father didn’t mean to hit me. It was just an unintentional push.”
“He doesn’t deserve to be my father,” she interrupted.
“Mother, you should divorce him.”
Lin Ting couldn’t tolerate her father hurting Li Jingqiu.
Moreover, if Li Jingqiu divorced him, she could then unreservedly find ways to force him to return the three thousand taels earlier.
Li Jingqiu covered Lin Ting’s mouth.
“What nonsense are you talking about, girl? If I divorce him, it would tarnish your reputation.”
She held traditional views, believing that a parental divorce would affect her daughter.
Her life was set, how could she drag her daughter into it?
Lin Ting insisted, “How would it affect my reputation? It won’t. Trust me. Even if it did, you must divorce him.”
Li Jingqiu shook her head.
“No.”
Lin Ting wouldn’t back down.
“Mother, if you don’t agree to divorce him, I’ll stay here and not leave. Who knows if he’ll hit you again next time?”
This time it was brushed off as an “unintentional push,” what about next time?
“You! Have you gone mad? You just got married a few days ago and you want to move back to your mother’s house?”
Li Jingqiu poked her forehead.
Lin Ting, however, gently touched the bruise on her wrist.
“I’m not mad. I’m worried about you. If you don’t want me to worry, divorce him. I’ll buy you a house in the capital, and I’ll never return to the Lin residence again.”
Li Jingqiu didn’t expect her to be so persistent, fearing she would actually stay at the Lin residence today, finally gave in.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
Li Jingqiu pinched Lin Ting, but not hard.
“I’m not lying.”
If it weren’t for Li Jingqiu still holding her back, Lin Ting would have rushed out to confront her father.
“You better seriously consider it, not just humor me, or I’ll be angry.”
“I might humor anyone else, but not you. But you mustn’t cause trouble today. It’s inauspicious, remember?”
Li Jingqiu was, of course, pleased that her daughter was protecting her, but she still prioritized her daughter’s well-being.
Lin Ting humphed.
As soon as she finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.
She listened carefully and realized it was Duan Ling.
Li Jingqiu immediately opened the door and let him in to see Lin Ting’s room.
They were husband and wife now, no need for reservations:
“I’ll check if lunch is ready.”
She left them alone together.
Duan Ling walked in and looked around.
Lin Ting felt a bit uncomfortable.
After her marriage, she hadn’t taken many things with her, leaving behind a room she had lived in for years, including some rather private items, such as the collection of erotic storybooks and picture albums.
However, Duan Ling probably wouldn’t discover them.
She had hidden them well, and Li Jingqiu had never found them either, thinking she knew very little about romantic matters.
On her wedding day, she had even advised her to read a booklet carefully to avoid hurting herself.
Lin Ting pulled out a chair for Duan Ling: “You sit…”
Instead of taking the chair, Duan Ling walked over to the bed where she had lain for over ten years and asked, “May I sit here?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
The room had hot tea prepared by the maids.
Lin Ting pushed the chair back under the table and turned to pour two cups of tea.
Duan Ling slowly caressed the neatly folded bedding on the bed.
Lin Ting had spent a lot of time lying there, and even though she hadn’t slept there since her marriage, her presence still lingered in the surroundings.
Unconsciously, he inhaled greedily.
Last night, Duan Ling had been surrounded by Lin Ting’s scent.
She was as restless in her sleep as ever, always rolling around, causing the bedding to easily come undone.
He would cover her, but she would kick it off again soon.
Actually, Duan Ling had other ways to prevent Lin Ting from kicking off the bedding, such as wrapping her in it and tying her up, but he didn’t use them.
Duan Ling spent a sleepless night.
He had to deal with his surging desires, right beside her, suppressing them, silently handling his urges without waking her or touching her.
As dawn approached, Duan Ling finally managed to handle his desires and clean up.
But as soon as he lay down on the bed, Lin Ting rolled over, completely exposed, the simple interplay of white, red, and black forming a memorable picture.
Duan Ling couldn’t resist embracing this picture.
He didn’t intend to do anything, he just wanted to hold Lin Ting, but she suddenly raised her leg and wrapped it around his waist.
His desires returned, and Lin Ting woke up, but she didn’t stop him immediately.
So he followed his desires, and later, when he sensed Lin Ting wanted to leave, he stopped before she could make a move.
Thinking of this, Duan Ling looked up at Lin Ting, who was walking towards him with the tea.
Lin Ting handed him a cup of tea.
“Have a cup of tea first. If you’re hungry, you can eat some pastries to tide you over.”
She was afraid of delaying the return visit time and making Li Jingqiu wait too long.
She hadn’t had breakfast, and neither had Duan Ling.
Duan Ling nodded, his gaze slowly sweeping over the items Lin Ting had used.
Li Jingqiu didn’t keep them waiting long and soon came to call them for lunch, without mentioning Lin’s third uncle.
He tried to come in, but Li Jingqiu kept him out, keeping it from Duan Ling.
However, Li Jingqiu knew that someone from a prominent family like him could see through it, and there was no point in hiding it, but she just didn’t expose it.
After lunch, Lin Ting stayed at the Lin residence until sunset before leaving.
Lin’s third uncle seized the opportunity to see them off and was about to bring up his promotion.
But before he could speak, Lin Ting tripped him, causing him to fall to the ground.
His wrist hit the stone lion in front of the door, turning red and hurting so much he couldn’t speak.
The others were all focused on Duan Ling and hardly noticed what she had done.
Even Lin’s third uncle didn’t know who had tripped him.
“Who? Who tripped me? How dare you!”
Li Jingqiu wasn’t worried at all, only thinking that he was losing face in front of her son-in-law.
Her tone was full of disdain.
“You probably just didn’t stand steady.”
Lin Ting called the servants to take him inside and then got on the carriage as if nothing had happened.
Duan Ling witnessed the whole process of Lin Ting tripping someone.
He glanced back at Lin’s third uncle, who was being carried by the servants.
He cried out in pain, trying to struggle and say something, but Li Jingqiu covered his mouth, making him look very disheveled.
The people standing outside the residence could only faintly hear Lin’s third uncle shouting, “Ziyu.”
It seemed like he had something to say to Duan Ling.
However, Duan Ling descended the steps and followed Lin Ting onto the carriage, lowering the curtain to block the view.
After entering the carriage, Lin Ting felt a bit reluctant to part with Li Jingqiu.
She lifted the side curtain of the carriage to look at her, until the carriage drove farther and farther away.
But she still didn’t lower the curtain, gazing at the passersby on the street in a daze.
A moment later, the carriage entered the bustling market.
Lin Ting’s gaze suddenly fixed on someone not far away.
She saw Xia Zimo walking dejectedly on the street, holding a pot of wine in his hand.
She remembered what Duan Xinning had said about him going out of town to look for his father.
If he couldn’t contact him, she called for the carriage to stop.
Duan Ling: “What’s wrong?”
Lin Ting stood up, bending to get out. “I saw Prince Xia.”
Duan Ling also saw Xia Zimo through the gap in the curtain.
“So what? You specifically stopped the carriage to greet Prince Xia?”
“No. I have something to talk to him about.”
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